"I am not a pedophile": Strom gets 23 months

The white separatist who pleaded guilty to one count of child pornography possession January 17 was sentenced to 23 months in prison this morning in U.S. District Court. Kevin Alfred Strom, 51, has been jailed since early January 2007, and Judge Norman Moon rejected Strom's request that he be sentenced to time served– and that he "unwillingly" possessed the kiddie porn found on his computer

Throughout Strom's trial last year for enticement of a minor and witness intimidation–- charges that were thrown out by Moon–- the prolific writer, radio broadcaster, and founder of the white-rights National Alliance offshoot, the National Vanguard, has been silent in court, speaking only in January to denounce his portrayal in the media as a neo-Nazi and white supremacist.

"I've been in solitary confinement for 16 months," says Strom. "I ask the court to grant me one minute for every month I've been in prison."

During his statement, Strom said he's been a good father to his three children, ages 15, 13 and 11, especially his severely autistic 13-year-old son, and that his predicament resulted from "false accusations" by his wife, Elisha Strom.

"I am not a pedophile," says Strom. "I am the furthest thing from a sexual pervert." He shared his disgust of pedophiles and child pornographers with the court, noting that he regarded sex as "holy," and that in high school he was an "absolute straight arrow," and was called a "prude."

Strom mentioned his love of art. "I believe when the human body is portrayed, it should be with nobility and respect," he said. Before his marriage to Elisha Strom, his personal website included many photos of the human form in the form of young girls, including a horseback-riding teen Brooke Shields.

"I do not like pornography," said Strom. "When I've sought out the erotic, it's never been pornography."

He explained that the child porn photos found on his computer were fewer than 10 out of more than 100,000, and that they came from an online forum he'd visited that had been "flooded with spam," including "sleazy, tragic" pictures of children that he deleted. "I possessed them unwillingly," he told Moon, "but I did possess them."

"Mr. Strom, this is an unusual case," acknowledged Judge Moon. "But Mr. Strom, you pled guilty to charges that now you're saying you're innocent. I prefer people plead not guilty than put it on me."

Moon said he was struck by the fact that Strom never inappropriately touched the 10-year-old girl who was a friend of his stepdaughter and whom he was charged with attempting to entice.

Nonetheless, calling the child porn guilty plea "extremely serious," Moon sentenced Strom to 23 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release. He did not prohibit Strom from associating with his minor children.

Afterward, Elisha Strom, who had contacted authorities and is the witness Kevin Strom was accused of intimidating, called the almost two-year sentence "a joke."

During his October trial, she had testified against her husband, saying that she'd returned home to find him naked and aroused in front of the images of two young, white nationalist-movement singers whose heads had been superimposed onto two nude bodies. Moon ruled that was not illegal, and despite Elisha's claims that Kevin had choked her to keep her quiet, he dismissed the witness intimidation charge.

Kevin Strom finally had his day in court to respond to Elisha. He accused her of selling or burning his possessions, including his art, "[w]hen I left my home to protect myself from my wife's violence," he said.

"At her hands, I've suffered innumerable bruises, cuts, and lacerations and went to the hospital," said Strom. And when he refused to give in to his wife's demands, he alleged, "She followed through on her threat to make these false accusations and ruin me."

In court last fall, Elisha admitted bashing Strom in the head with a telephone, and that she had the worse temper of the two.

He further claimed that Elisha did not think he was a pedophile because the day after she found him looking at more little-girl pix on October 17, 2005, she allowed her daughter to go with him on a four-day trip to pick up his autistic son

Elisha Strom did not respond to her husband's charges, saying only, "I did my best to prevent him from accessing children."
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34 comments

Terry S. Regis April 21st, 2008 | 3:24pm

For more than a year, Kevin Strom claimed he was not a pedophile. Today he admitted that he is. Strom is now a registered sex offender on his way to federal prison.

Don't come back, Kevin.

But of course, he will. Kevin Strom's mother and stepfather were in the courtroom today to assure us all their special little freak will be living with them here in Charlottesville, once he is released.

For a couple that makes a pretty good living in this town counseling underage pregnant teens in crisis, how could you dare support and offer to house a convicted pedophile with an appetite for underage girls in this community?

Strom's lawyer admitted last year that Kevin ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??courted¢Ã¢â??Â¬ a ten year old girl. He sent her love notes, flowers and gifts. He wrote disgusting poems about marrying her. A fifth grader! Kevin Strom was caught stalking the child at her home and school. And the sick, twisted judge actually commended Kevin Strom today for not physically touching this 10 year old. The only reason Strom did not touch the child is because the FBI arrested him before he had the chance, you moron.

What a country! With time served, Kevin Strom will be back on our streets before Thanksgiving. I can see it now. Film crews from the Maury Povich Show will come to Charlottesville next year to tell America the story of the neo-Nazi pedophile who lives with his parents, who work as crisis pregnancy counselors for underage girls.

Sort of like the exterminator who gets caught letting ants loose in your house, isn't it?

Unbelievable.

Jahan April 21st, 2008 | 9:34pm

"Terry S. Regis" wrote:
For more than a year, Kevin Strom claimed he was not a pedophile. Today he admitted that he is.

That is incorrect, according to the statement attributed to Strom in the article:

During his statement, Strom said he's been a good father to his three children, ages 15, 13 and 11, especially his severely autistic 13-year-old son, and that his predicament resulted from ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??false accusations¢Ã¢â??Â¬ by his wife, Elisha Strom.

¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??I am not a pedophile,¢Ã¢â??Â¬ says Strom. ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??I am the furthest thing from a sexual pervert.¢Ã¢â??Â¬ He shared his disgust of pedophiles and child pornographers with the court, noting that he regarded sex as ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??holy,¢Ã¢â??Â¬ and that in high school he was an ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??absolute straight arrow,¢Ã¢â??Â¬ and was called a ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??prude.¢Ã¢â??Â¬

James Williams April 22nd, 2008 | 6:43am

¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??I do not like pornography,¢Ã¢â??Â¬ said Strom. ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??When I've sought out the erotic, it's never been pornography.¢Ã¢â??Â¬

He explained that the child porn photos found on his computer were fewer than 10 out of more than 100,000, and that they came from an online forum he'd visited that had been ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??flooded with spam,¢Ã¢â??Â¬ including ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??sleazy, tragic¢Ã¢â??Â¬ pictures of children that he deleted. ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??I possessed them unwillingly,¢Ã¢â??Â¬ he told Moon, ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??but I did possess them.¢Ã¢â??Â¬

Kevin Strom lied yesterday. But perjury is the least of his crimes. The record shows that Mr. Strom "possessed" images of child pornography more than just "unwillingly." In grand jury and open court testimony, it was learned his wife secretly videotaped Kevin Strom sitting nude in front of his computer screen masturbating to images of child porn on more than two dozen occasions in 2005 and 2006 before confronting him about it.

The grand jury record and subsequent court testimony shows that Kevin Strom admitted to his wife and mother that he had a "problem" with collecting images of child pornography. His parents paid for and encouraged Kevin to get counseling for this problem. Instead of working through this incredibly horrific behavior, the record shows Mr. Strom went into damage control mode and tried to cover up his evil.

Court records and evidence shows that Kevin Strom did not delete these images as he claimed yesterday. Mr. Strom cleverly encrypted these and thousands of other images of child pornography, confident that the feds would never be able to determine what the images were. In fact, in preliminary hearings, the US Attorney admitted they had a great deal of trouble decoding most of these files.

The FBI reported to Congress last year that child predators in our society have turned collecting illegal photographs of children into a very high-tech science. They can encrypt images and protect their activities better than terrorists, organized crime bosses or industrial spies. Kevin Strom, an electronics engineer by profession, went even further. Testimony revealed that Strom would disassemble his computers, smash the hard drives and take the broken pieces of his machines all over the region to dispose of in random dumpsters and trash cans.

The truth is Kevin Strom is an unrepentant pedophile. And when he admitted to having more than 100,000 images of children on his computer yesterday he was basically bragging that the FBI was only able to find 10 illegal child porn images among them. Court records show the FBI was unable to decode tens of thousands of images in Kevin's "collection."

But the truth is, Mr. Strom pleaded guilty because he knew what a jury in this town would decide had they seen exactly what the FBI was able to find on his computer.

Everything I have said here is a matter of public record. Let me add that I am friends with and greatly admire Kevin Strom's parents, Ron and Mary Lou Schneider. I take exception to the post above that in any way blames them for the horrific, unspeakable conduct of their son. They know what their son is and they are heartbroken. This tragic case has tested their faith and strengthened their character as human beings. But it had nothing to do with them.

The truth is the Schneider's are good Christian people who do God's work here in Charlottesville. They treat all people with kindness, humility and grace. And yes, they extend their humble Christian charity to everyone, even the devious monster that is their son.

Please, all of you, leave them out of this.

Father John Murphy April 22nd, 2008 | 9:07am

What's wrong with loving the young ones, even young boys?

paybacks are hell April 22nd, 2008 | 10:41am

perhaps in prison someone twice his size will fall in love with him.

Now that would be a decent payback.

steve ballmer April 22nd, 2008 | 12:22pm

Terry,

Nothing you said made it sound like he's a stalker, he just sounds like a guy who got caught trying to be in a relationship in the wrong century to be a pedo. It sounds like he didn't touch her because he respects her, that'd be my guess. Just because you don't like young girls doesn't mean other people don't, and it's possible the girl likes him too.. Probably not, but you never know... so quit acting like you do.

Pornography, pedophiles, drug abusers, child abusers, robbery and murder, who ever said the Neo-Nazi/ white supremacists movement is any different from the old Nazi's, the new ones just learned from the old ones and carry on the tradition. Just a sick bunch of puppies that need to be put in a crooker sack and put to sleep.

HL April 23rd, 2008 | 1:37pm

When I was in kindergarten I had a crush on a classmate named Carolyn, and in 1st grade a girl named Michelle G. Does that mean I'm abnormal????? Help me!

Jahan April 23rd, 2008 | 8:52pm

Its easy for Strom's detractors here on this board to dominate the discussion.

Strom isn't here to defend himself.

How ridiculous is the pride of those who attack helpless targets.

Susan April 24th, 2008 | 3:22am

"Its easy for Strom's detractors here on this board to dominate the discussion."

Yes when the target of your scorn & derision is a proven pedophile on top of being a racist loser, it's hard NOT to dominate a discussion.

"Strom isn't here to defend himself."

Is anyone seriously suggesting there's any possible defense to any of Strom's faults??

"How ridiculous is the pride of those who attack helpless targets."

Yes, that particularly pertains to Strom, the *adulterous* pedophile!

observer April 24th, 2008 | 6:15am

''The truth is Kevin Strom is an unrepentant pedophile. And when he admitted to having more than 100,000 images of children on his computer yesterday he was basically bragging that the FBI was only able to find 10 illegal child porn images among them. Court records show the FBI was unable to decode tens of thousands of images in Kevin's ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã?â??collection.¢Ã¢â??Â¬''

Are you seriously saying that the mighty FBI are unable to decode encryption by this person? So you're saying Strom has a higher ability in this field of computer data than Federal enforcement professionals? I'm surprised Strom would have such high ability as you suggest.

mary April 24th, 2008 | 1:46pm

Let's hope when he gets out he doesn't go after one of your kids. I wonder how the then 10 year old feels about him serving so little time? Do you think she might have a problem with that? He should serve more time... a lot more.

Sick Of The Local Rambos April 24th, 2008 | 6:38pm

quote: "Are you seriously saying that the mighty FBI are unable to decode encryption by this person?"

It's interesting to compare this case with that of superstar rapper R. Kelly. He has been charged with possession of underage porn in both Illinois and Florida. He was released without charge in Florida after his legal team proved the police search of his property was illegal. The Illinois case, though begun in 1991, has yet to come to court. Kelly, defended by top record company lawyers, has been free to persue his millionaire career during that time.

Another case is that of famous film director Woody Allen. In the early 1990s his wife, actress Mia Farrow, alleged he had molested two of her daughters, one of them only 7 years old. Allen was tried, and defended by a top New York legal team. In a complex under-reported case the judge said Allen's behaviour was innappropriate, but that the legal evidence was inconclusive. A few years later he married his former stepdaughter.

Of course R. Kelly and Woody Allen are 'somebodies', world famous entertainers. This Strom person is a 'nobody'.

observer April 25th, 2008 | 6:16pm

Sorry, that should be 2001 for the original R. Kelly charges, and the actual legal indictments were in 2002. I assumed his record company had helped him, on account of massive investment.

Jahan April 25th, 2008 | 8:15pm

Generally speaking, the public is never brave unless faced with a helpless target.

observer April 26th, 2008 | 2:03am

Well, at least Strom and his associates might learn some humility.

RJames April 26th, 2008 | 5:47am

Yeah, now all of us whites can intermarry with black and brown people with a clear conscience! Great, finally we wonÃ?â??Žt have to be reminded that we are part of those evil white racists that exploited all those poor black and brown people, because everybody knows just how smart and talented blacks and hispanics and other non-whites are, right?

Man, donÃ?â??Žt you know it was black people that invented space-travel, supercomputers and science of all types. White people just "stole" all that advanced tech from black people. :-)

Cletus April 26th, 2008 | 7:12am

"Are you seriously saying that the mighty FBI are unable to decode encryption by this person?"
Observer: punch the letters GPG into google to get your answer. If the NSA has trouble with this what makes you think the FBI fares any better? Also try: triple DES, Blowfish and RSA which are all publicly available.

Cheryl G. April 29th, 2008 | 1:41am

It's obvious who you are, "Mr." "James Williams," and you're hardly an impartial observer in this matter.

He is not guilty of either pedophilia or inappripriate interest in kids but he is guilty of major judgement and logistical blunders that cost the cause of interest representation for Euro-Americans dearly. The man is a clown, and will never be welcome among White Nationalists again.

Kirsten Helene Kaiser April 29th, 2008 | 1:20pm

I was Kevin wife for more years than I care to count. I discuss a lot of my life with Kevin in my book "Bondage of Self." There is a lot I could say about Kevin, but it is a very painful topic. I used to think Kevin was a-sexual, now I know better.

When I first met Kevin I was 24 and looked like I was about 12 when I had my hair in pig tails which Kevin liked. His house was full of art work by Waterhouse and Maxfield Parrish of young girls in the water or on rocks. His favorite book was "Loleta" and his said his favorite sport was "Nymphet Baseball."

Kevin used to have us take our trash to another state to dump in the backs of Wal-Marts. He was convinced the FBI was going through our garbage. Maybe they were. I can say that the day after the OK city bombing he came home with several boxes of papers which we later burned. I have always thought the National Alliance had a hand in that bombing.

There is something wrong with Kevin that I cannot quite pin down. He has a very high IQ, but he is lacking in something. I have been told he has Asperger's, but that does not account for his obsession with young girls.

mary April 29th, 2008 | 1:21pm

Strom was definitely interested in a young girl. It wasn't normal or appropriate. It was said that he was "grooming" the girl. You don't find that inappropriate?

Kirsten Helene Kaiser April 29th, 2008 | 2:51pm

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

A poignant, very personal story,

August 7, 2003

By A Customer

The annals of literature are filled with stories of soured marriages, bitter custody battles and personal recovery and redemption. What makes Kirsten Helene Kaiser's book both notable and unique is that it takes place against the backdrop of the white nationalist movement in the United States.

Ms. Kaiser was formerly married to Kevin Alfred Strom, the host of American Dissident Voices and a prominent member of the National Alliance, perhaps the largest and best organized white nationalist organization in America. The National Alliance was founded and led by the late Dr. William L. Pierce, best known as the author of "The Turner Diaries" which purportedly served as a catalyst for Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

However, this book is not about either the National Alliance or the white nationalist movement. It is an intense and deeply personal story of one woman's struggle to defeat the demons in her life and, in the process of recovery, find peace and a renewed sense of meaning. There is a cathartic quality to the book which is at once both inspiring and disquieting.

This is Ms. Kaiser's first book and, to her credit, she doesn't give the appearance of holding anything back This is her story. This is her book. This is very much the truth as she sees it. She appears to be entirely unconcerned with making herself look good; there are one or two occasions where she presents herself to the reader in a manner which invites understanding, but not sympathy and that is rare for a book of this genre.

At the same time, while Ms. Kaiser doesn't present her former husband as either a likable or a sympathetic figure (and this is not a surprise given their divorce), neither does she demonize him. Mr. Strom is omnipresent in this book and he emerges as a flesh-and-blood human being and not as a stereotype. (It must be noted that Ms. Kaiser and Mr. Strom have since married other partners and that each of them appears quite happy with their respective spouses).

I must confess that the elements of the book that dealt with the marital/custodial issues made me most uncomfortable. There are always two sides to every dispute and while I understood that these issues are an integral part to Ms. Kaiser's story, as a reader I felt tremendously saddened by the tragic elements that accompany marital dissolution and custody disputes. (I still don't know, for example, whether to say I am sorry or congratulations when someone I know tells me they are divorcing. Even when it is necessary, there is still an element of hurt for everyone concerned that is deserving of compassion).

The sections of the book that addressed Ms. Kaiser's journey toward recovery and spiritually (she has embraced Catholicism) are nothing short of remarkable. Ms. Kaiser appears more objective about herself than she occasionally is about the other personages who inhabit her story. The mirror she uses to reflect herself shows a person with flaws and she does not allow herself to lapse into becoming a strident voice for moral rectitude. She becomes more perfect by her imperfections and, by showing us her vulnerabilities, she becomes more admirable.

With respect to the author's style, I found the early sections of the book tough going, principally due to the extensive use of quotations. This had a "ping-pong" effect on this reader. As a general rule, and this reflects my personal biases, I find an extensive use of quotations reads like a transcript. I feel these parts of the book would have been improved by paraphrasing and minimizing the verbatim quotes.

Since nit picking has become de rigeur in reviews, I will engage in one: The name of historical revisionist Ernst Zundel is recorded as "Zundle" in the copy of the book I read. This is simply unfortunate and not a substantive issue.

Other than these points, the book is well written and effectively organized. Ms.Kaiser's inclusion of writing assignments she produced as part of her journey toward recovery were particularly effective and their inclusion here is inspired.

"The Bondage of Self" is a valiant effort by a first-time author to come to grips with her life and times (and she is still a young woman). It will tug at your heart and tear at your gut. It may anger you, it may have you shaking your head in amazement, it may inspire you. One of the things it will not do is leave you feeling apathetic. In the final analysis it is this last point, having an impact on the reader, that is the true measure of an author.

What's disgusting is Pee Wee Herman who entertained millions of kids was caught massaging his love muscle in a movie theater. Woody Allen screws his 13 step-daughter, but they are not persecuted by Hollywood. It's so hard to believe Kevin would be this careless. Of course, what is strange is I was looking at a photo of Kevin a few years back and I thought he had sort of a strange look to him. We had a judge near my home that was snorting cocaine all the time. I know someone who was in a crack house and he saw Norton come into the place and buy crack. This same judge tried to have this guy thrown in jail for 8 years, because of possession of a crack pipe. I would assume, because either he saw him and he knew him or this guy went around and said he saw the judge buying crack. This judge would have given this guy 8 years and the guy would have paid dearly to get justice.

Jahan May 2nd, 2008 | 11:03pm

So - if you all here are feeling this brave, why don't you get organized, and confront some real criminals.

To comment on John Renehan statement, Kevin has a lot of problems but alcohol or drugs is not one of them. As you may know Kevin's father was a very abusive alcoholic who emotionally terrorized the family before taking his own life. As a small child Kevin swore off any drug use. He does not even use novocaine when he has to have a root canel.

Kevin also strict about never eating meat use using animal products such as leather. I had to give away my mink stole and a lot of my shoes when I was with him. Kevin is obsessed with keeping things separate including his food; nothing is allowed to touch anything else and he will completely eat one thing before eating another. All of his very strict black and white thinking is typical for a person with Asperger's.

Jahan May 4th, 2008 | 3:42pm

You'll probably find better examples of abnormality among some of Mr. Strom's detractors.

Sick Of The Local Rambos May 4th, 2008 | 4:11pm

Strom is a saint when compared to this guy:

April 23, 2008

MOORESTOWN, NJ ¢Ã¢â??Â¬Ã¢â?¬Å? A South Jersey police officer, in jail after being accused of molesting three children, was charged yesterday with four counts of animal cruelty for having sex with barnyard animals, authorities said.

Patrolman Robert Melia, 38, was suspended last week by the Moorestown Police department after authorities raided his Moorestown home and seized a computer and pornographic materials.

The animal cruelty charges were filed after an examination of the seized materials, authorities said.

An investigation is continuing. Police said they were investigating four incidents involving cows.

Moorestown, NJ, Patrolman Robert Melia has been charged with having sex with cows.
Melia and Pemberton filmmaker Heather Lewis, 32, were charged April 13 with the sexual assaults of three girls at Melia's house. The assaults occured on multiple occasions during the last five years, said a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor's office said.

Melia is being held on $510,000 bail at the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly. Lewis, who is charged with aggravated sexual assault and criminal sexual contact, is being held on $300,000 bail at the Women's Detention Center in Pemberton.

Sick Of The Local Rambos May 4th, 2008 | 4:21pm

My God! When I posted the tale above about the cop having sex with cows, I figured it was an isolated and unusual event. But when asked about sex with cows being quite a physical task, another cop tells a person to come to Arizona and he will show him how to have sex with cows. Maybe it's not such an isolated and unusual event in law enforcement? WTF????

"Generally speaking, the public is never brave unless faced with a helpless target"

So true, Jahan

Nice one!

observer June 14th, 2008 | 4:55am

So rap superstar R. Kelly has been found not guilty of underage sex and porn charges. He was defended by a top Illinois attorney, and strangely the Cook County Prosecutor declined to call the alleged victim to the stand on grounds of not causing distress.